It must be Christmas…

Monday night after I got home, I decided to pull Christmas out from the garage.  That’s where we keep it during the off season, don’t ya know?

And to get me into the Christmas spirit, I popped “White Christmas” into the DVD player and whipped up a peppermint latte.  Mmmmm….

I tried to be all snazzy and creative…. but I’m not sure I have the “foam art” down just yet.  Can anyone make me feel better and correctly guess what that was supposed to be??

I probably should have thought my idea through a little better, since I ended up Christmas-ing the house until 2 a.m.  But, now when I wake up in the morning and come home every day I have all this loveliness to come home to…

Don’t you just love all the cheesy you made in the 1st grade? Putting up ornaments has to be my favorite Christmas activity (well, other than all the baking). It’s like going through a big ‘ol scrapbook. Each one of our ornaments has a special memory or story attached to it, and I’m always flooded with nostalgia when I break into those carefully packed boxes.  This year was especially difficult for me without my parents here to join in the festivities.  They’ll be with me for Christmas, but I’ve never actually put up the tree without them.

Weekend Follow-Up

I’m a few days late, but I wanted to put up a few more pictures from this weekend! Monday before I left, we visited my favorite salad spot for round two…. Newks!

I’m a little obsessed, I’ll admit it… but it’s really just that good.

But not as good as this shot! On three everyone give a collective “Awe.”  One… two…. three!!

And… I’ll leave you with one more shot of my silliness… Hey – at least I crack myself up. =)

Oh, (and thanks to Veggie Girl, whose comment reminded me that I actually added this picture to the post) and just to make everyone out there jealous, I got to spend Monday morning reading domino magazines!  Tasha has like a year’s worth of them stocked up.  I know I’m not the only one who gets a little misty-eyed (okay that might be exaggerating it just a little) to think that this wonderful magazine is now out of circulation!

The Perfect Omlet

I have found the secret(s) to the perfect omelet.

Secret #1 – Set your eggs out an hour or so before using them – room temp eggs cook better

Secret #2 – For every 4 eggs used, add 1.5 T water when beating

Secret #4 – Cook them at a very low heat

Secret #5 – After pouring the eggs into the pan, cover the pan with a lid for about 5 minutes

Secret $6 – Perfect avocados – bright green, creamy, and scrumptious

Secret #7  - Lots of mushrooms

Secret #8 – No meat!! It smothers the taste of all those fresh veggies

Secret # 9 – The most important ingredient of all for the perfect omelet…. Eating them with sweet friends! 

(My very kind and gracious hostess, Tasha)

Crazy Fun, Sushi, and a New Addition to the Mac Family

As always, my weekends in Memphis fly by! It seems like I just got here, but in reality, I’ve blown through 3 fun-filled days! Friday night we crashed out at my hostess’ house, drank coffee, ate ice cream, watched crazy youtube videos, and watched Ben be…. well… Ben.  Cheap entertainment at its best!

D’awe….. You caught me indulging on ice cream!

Sunday was a very special day.  After church, Boyfriend and I made a very special trip…. to the Mac store.

That’s right folks.  Boyfriend has finally joined the Mac side.  He’s going to love it here, I know.

After picking up the computer (and free wireless printer/scanner/copier!!), we joined a few friends at Kyoto’s for sushi.  MMMMMMmmmm I haven’t had sushi since I went gluten free (due to the soy sauce), but I was determined to have some this weekend.  I abstained from the soy sauce itself (although I am sure it was snuck into some of the other sauces and I know there’s wheat in the imitation crab meat), and although I didn’t feel great after eating it, I did feel better than I thought I would! Hurray!!

Me and the Boyfriend after stuffing our faces with sushi!

We spent the rest of our evening at his brother and sister-in-law’s apartment. Boyfriend played around with his new toy and I learned how to make coffee… Boyfriend’s brother used to manage a Starbucks, so he knows all the tips and tricks! I got a crash course in coffee-making, which will come in handy next week when I am slammed with work, work, work!

Lotsa Lattes

Today was a very early morning… Boyfriend had to be in a town a few hours away from Memphis at 11:00, so I was up and running around at 7:30 (okay, that’s really not early for me… but I’m on vacation, okay!?).  I whipped up a quick bowl mug of Very Tasty Gluten Free Cereal in the microwave and topped it off with half a cup of Strawberry Whole Soy & Co. yogurt and a spoonful of honey roasted peanut butter from Whole Foods (my hostess is a Whole Foods fanatic… hurray!).

This Starbucks cup and I have quite a little love affair going on.  It joined me for several coffee indulgences and a few hours of watching the Food Network yesterday, and this breakfast meeting has only made our love grow stronger.   It’s going to take a lot of effort to convince him not to hop into my suitcase for the return trip home.

Now back to breakfast… although I like soy yogurt, it just doesn’t measure up to my beloved Kroger Carb Master yogurt.

The soy yogurt has 160 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 6 grams of protein, and….. 30 grams of carbs and 21 grams of sugar!!!! Are you kidding me?? My humble Kroger Carb Master yogurt tastes better (in my opinion), and has only 80 calories, 1.5 g fat, 4 g carbs, and 3 g sugar.  Of course the Kroger yogurt isn’t an option if you can’t do dairy…. But really… can’t they make a soy yogurt that has better stats than that!?  21 sugars is just absurd!

Before heading out of town, Boyfriend and I stopped at Starbucks for a morning pick-me-up.  Isn’t that just a lovely site?

Okay… this wasn’t all for us!  We had a couple of other people making the 2 hour trip with us, as well.  =)

I have Boyfriend hooked on the Pumpkin Spice Latte, but I decided to try something a little different today: A Venti 2 Pump Pumpkin Soy Vanilla Rooibos Tea Latte.  Yes, that’s quite a mouthful to say, and I thoroughly confused the baristas.  But it was totally worth the hassle!  It won’t replace my love for strong dark coffee (especially when I need that extra caffeine kick in the pants), but it was a cupful of creamy, spicy goodness that made me a very, very happy little girl!

Now I’m just sitting here waiting on Boyfriend…. quite a few hours past my regularly scheduled feeding time, and I’m about to start gnawing on my purse strap.  Wait! I think I just heard someone say they are about to wrap things up! Project Feed Me begins now!!

Adios until next time!  Hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend.

 

Happy Memphis Weekend!

That’s right, folks!!  I get to spend the weekend with Boyfriend!  I drove in late Thursday night after class.  Definitely not fun.  The drive itself wasn’t too bad – except there aren’t many places to stop once you get past Birmingham.  And when you have the bladder the size of a lima bean…. well, let’s just say that this does not make for a very good time.

I also had a little bit of an uh-oh moment around Tupelo, MS (when I finally found a decent gas station to stop at).  I mosied inside, went to the bathroom, and browsed around a bit trying to decide on whether or not I wanted something to eat.  At this point in the night, I wasn’t exactly hungry… just wanting something to make the final hour a little more exciting.  I talked myself out of the un-needed calories and settled on a monster cup of Diet Coke instead.  During this entire time, it never crossed my mind that I didn’t have my car keys in my hand — until I got back outside to my car.  Yup.  As I peered in through the driver’s window I saw them.  Sitting all nice and pretty in cup holder.  My first instinct was to panic, but I had a few tricks up my sleeve, and in a matter of minutes I was back on the road again!  Hurray for back-up plans (and mothers who make sure you have them).

I had a nice leisurely Friday morning while Boyfriend was at work.  Around noon I met up with him and his lunch crew at my favorite place in Memphis, Newks. I’m telling you.  This place has the best salads. Ever. And it always inspires me to make grand and delicious salads. I see fresh Romain lettuce and gorgonzola in my shopping cart future!  I just need to find a great big bowl like theirs to duplicate this truly magical experience.

This particular time I got the Newk’s Favorite: mixed greens, grilled chicken breast, gorgonzola cheese, dried cranberries, grapes, artichoke hearts, and pecans tossed with Newk’s sherry vinaigrette.

After Boyfriend went back to work, I hit Kroger so I could grab a few snacks for the rest of the weekend. I’m staying with one of Boyfriend’s friends, and I don’t wanna mooch off her pantry.  Plus… there’s more dog food/snacks in her pantry than actual people food!  Not exactly appetizing… or gluten-free. =)  But she has lots of Starbucks coffee, so I wont hold it against her.

I found some soy creamer and yogurt on sale, so I snatched those up real quick along with a couple of apples and a can of peaches to replace the ones ate that morning!

I also bought myself a naughty little snack… chocolate!   I’m sad to say this bar was a little bit of a disappointment.  I think I had gotten used to Trader Joe’s dark chocolate, and although Cadbury Eggs will always hold a very dear spot in my heart ever Easter… Cadbury just doesn’t do dark chocolate as well as TJ.

Eclectic Bowl x 2

I had the morning off from tutoring today, so I spent my first few hours cleaning and getting things ready for my pre-thanksgiving weekend trip!  I hate coming home to a messy house, so I do my best to make sure my fridge is cleaned out, the dishes are done, the carpet is vacuumed, the bedroom is organized, and the bathroom is scrubbed down!  You can’t beat the feeling of walking through that front door after a few days being away and seeing a clean, welcoming home!

Part of that cleaning process included a brainstorming session on how to eat up everything out of the fridge so it doesn’t go to waste.  The perfect inspiration for Eclectic Bowls!  I had just enough for two of them…. one for lunch and one for dinner!

Would you just look at them?  Like two cute little friends, sitting side by side.

The first had shredded chicken breast, lentils, pan-roasted squash, sliced cherry tomatoes, diced onions, and salsa verde.

…and another shot so you can see all those bright colorful layers!

The second one was a mini chicken meat loaf (all cut up), some baked sweet potato wedges, lentils, diced onions, and a Mr. Sunny.

Lots of goodness hiding under Mr. Sunny….

Am I the only crazy kid out there?  Does anyone else just have to clean their house (and fridge) before leaving it – even if only for a few days?

Straw… or Spoon?

Spoon! After my workout, I decided to make my protein shake/smoothie in bowl form.  Drinking my calories never really fills me up, so…. I created this!

1 package Vanilla Alive! Whole Food protein powder, 1 frozen banana, and one cup of water – all blended together until thick and creamy.  And a few frozen blackberries to top it all off!

The Alive! protein powder has lots of minerals, vitamins, fruits, protein, vegetables, green food, herbs, etc….  I guess that’s what makes it green?  It kind of surprised me, since the powder was actually white and only turned green as it was being blended.  It was like magic!!  Delicious, sweet, wholesome magic! =)

Apple Butter and Chocolate Caramel Mochas…

Lucky me… our store is closing at 8 now instead of 9… Makes those back-to-back closing and opening days a whole lot easier!  I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of crockpot oats and (microwave) baked cinnamon apples with a fresh new topping…

Apple Butter from north Georgia!  Some dear friends of mine surprised me with this jar on Sunday and I’ve been dreaming of ways to use it ever since…  It was phenomenal!

Messy, thick, rich, and gooey… just the way I like! I even added an extra little dab of pumpkin butter… It was a bowl full of autumn goodness.

And to motivate me to get the work day started…

My own version of a caramel chocolate mocha.  1/2 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk + 1/2 cup hot water + 2 shots espresso + 2 pump sugar-free caramel syrup.  Mixed all together and poured into a Starbucks cup.

Does anyone else wash out their paper coffee cups and use them again?

 

This day last year…

This day last year I was greeted with a “surprise” package.  What could it be??

Is it chocolate?  Books from Amazon?  A new sweater?

NO! My college graduation cap, gown, tassel and announcements!

After three and a half years of late nights, caffeine binges, cases of Rock Stars and Diet Cokes, three laptops, countless pens, dozens of notebooks, and probably about 18 trees worth of paper… I was finally nearing the end of my undergraduate experience!

I felt like such a big goober asking my daddy-dearest to document this event.  After all, it wasn’t like I was actually getting my diploma for another month.  But, looking back I am glad I did!  I can’t even describe the high I felt at this very moment, realizing all those countless hours studying, writing, testing, and sitting in freezing lecture rooms were about to pay off.  This very moment is probably the motivating push I needed to get me through those last few tiring weeks.

And now, I’m using it to get me through these last few weeks of my 2nd semester of grad school.  I’m tired.  I’m stressed.  And I’m in desperate need of a barrel of chocolate and a gallon of coffee. But in 21 days I will be free.  Free to read for pleasure.  Free to go to the gym whenever I like. Free to see my friends again.  Free to put up Christmas decorations and bake.  In just 21 days…. I can sleep.